Preview: Rays at Rangers

April 09, 2013|Reuters

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Preview: Rays at Rangers

The Texas Rangers hit 200 home runs last season and it seemed they would be hard-pressed to hit that many in 2013 with Josh Hamilton (43 homers in 2012) and Mike Napoli (24) departing via free agency during the off-season. But it apparently doesn't matter whose in the lineup as the Rangers have hit eight in their last three games. They will try to continue their power surge against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday in the second of a three-game series.

Red-hot A.J. Pierzynski and Mitch Moreland hit back-to-back homers to help Texas defeat Tampa Bay 5-4 on Monday. That game, though, will be long remembered because of the third-strike call to end the contest by Marty Foster on Ben Zobrist that appeared well out of the strike zone. Nick Tepesch, who won a job in the starting rotation in spring training, will make his first major-league start for Texas.

Hernandez, formerly known as Faustino Carmona before being arrested last year on false identity charges, allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings and struck out seven in his Rays debut, losing 6-3 to Baltimore on Thursday. Hernandez has struggled against the Rangers, going 2-8 with a 5.37 ERA in 12 career starts, but is a respectable 2-2, 3.73 at Rangers Ballpark. Nelson Cruz is 5-for-16 with three home runs against Hernandez while David Murphy is 7-for-14 with three walks.

Tepesch, a 14th-round draft pick in 2010 out of the University of Missouri, warmed up with five solid innings for Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday. The 24-year-old Kansas City, Mo., native was 11-6 with a 3.67 ERA in 28 games last season with Double-A Frisco of the Texas League and Round Rock of the Pacific Coast League. Tepesch's spring training numbers were not impressive as he allowed 24 hits in 18 innings and posted a 6.50 ERA in five appearances.

WALK-OFFS

1. "I saw the pitch and of course don't have the chance to do it again," Foster told a pool reporter after Monday's game. "But had I had a chance to do it again, I wouldn't call that pitch a strike."

2. Pierzynski, who signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract in the off-season, is 9-for-22.

3. Rangers reliever Joe Nathan on Monday became the 24th pitcher to record 300 career saves. He is second among active pitchers to all-time leader Mariano Rivera (609) of the New York Yankees. The Phillies' Jonathan Papelbon is next with 258.